Are Ransom Payers Incentivizing Ransomware?

A Group named CyberEdge uncovered two issues that are fueling ransomware attacks at their peak:

• Ransom Payers are recovering their data:

In 2018, only 49% of ransom payers recovered their data. In 2019, that number rose to 61% but now-a-days, 67% of ransom payers have recovered their data.

• More payments fueling ransomware Industry:

In 2018, only 39% of ransomware victims really paid ransom. In 2019, that number rose to 45%. But today, an alarming 58% of victimized organizations have paid ransoms.

Cybercriminals realized that withholding encrypted data after getting ransom payment is not good for business. After that, data recovery rates have gone up.

Unfortunately, the increased number for data recovery is motivating other organizations to pay ransoms, which in turn is stimulating the growth of ransomware industry. In 2019, 56% of organizations were compromised by ransomware. That number rose to 62% in 2020 – a new record.

“This year, both good news and bad news are stimulating growth of the multi-billion-dollar ransomware industry,” says Steve Piper, founder and CEO of CyberEdge Group.

“To combat ransomware and other threats, I advise IT security organizations to invest wisely in products that continuously discover and patch vulnerabilities, uncover advanced threats using machine learning and artificial intelligence, and continuously back up their data everywhere.”

“I also recommend organizations invest more in their people, including training and certification for IT security personnel and ongoing security awareness training for all employees. Never underestimate the value of the human firewall.”